JP2003016909A - Electron emitting element, electron source and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a field emission type electron emitting element with a small electron beam diameter and a large electron emitting area capable of performing an efficient electron emission at a low voltage and being manufactured by an easy process, an electron source and an image forming device. SOLUTION: This electron emitting element comprises an insulating layer put between a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer and a minute opening (through-hole), and this element emits electrons by application of voltage between the electrodes. In this element, the lower opening area of the insulating layer is smaller than the upper opening area thereof, and a substantially flat area is present between the both. The upper opening area of the insulating layer is larger than the opening area of the second electrode layer. The electron emitting surface of an electron emitting material is arranged in a position lower than the flat area of the insulating film within the opening part of the insulating layer. According to such a structure, since the equipotential surface of the electron emitting element surface can be formed into a recessed shape, an efficient electron emission can be performed at a low voltage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron-emitting device, an electron source, and an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron emitters, a thermoelectron source and a cold cathode electron source, are known. The cold cathode electron source is a field emission type (hereinafter referred to as FE type), metal / insulating layer /
There are a metal type (hereinafter referred to as MIM type), a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the like.

[0003]

In order to apply the electron-emitting device to the image forming apparatus, an emission current for causing the phosphor to emit light with sufficient brightness is required, and the driving voltage is small to reduce power consumption. Also, in order to increase the definition of the display, it is required that the diameter of the electron beam with which the phosphor is irradiated is small. And it is important to be easy to manufacture. From such a viewpoint, a cold cathode electron source has been mainly developed for the image forming apparatus. However, there are still problems in the following points, and an image forming apparatus that can sufficiently satisfy the above requirements has not been created.

The MIM type is a lower electrode (cathode electrode layer)
In this structure, an insulating layer is arranged between the upper electrode and the upper electrode (gate electrode layer), and a voltage is applied between both electrodes to extract electrons. Since the direction of the internal electric field coincides with the direction of emitted electrons and the potential distribution on the emission surface is not distorted, a small electron beam diameter can be realized, but electron scattering occurs at the insulating layer 3 and the upper electrode 2. Therefore, it is generally inefficient, which is not very desirable for low power consumption.

FIG. 16 shows a Spindt type electron-emitting device as an example of a conventional FE type. In FIG. 16, 1 is a substrate, 4 is a cathode electrode layer (low potential electrode), 3 is an insulating layer,
Reference numeral 2 is a gate electrode layer (high potential electrode), 5 is a microchip, and 6 is an equipotential surface. When a bias is applied between the microchip 5 having the curvature r and the gate electrode layer 2, electrons are emitted from the tip of the microchip 5 toward the anode. The amount of emitted electrons is determined by the distance d between the gate electrode layer 2 and the tip of the microchip 5, the gate voltage Vg, and the work function of the emitting material. That is, it is a factor that determines the performance of the device that the distance d between the gate electrode layer 2 and the microchip 5 is well controlled.

FIG. 17 shows a general manufacturing process of a Spindt type electron-emitting device. The manufacturing process will be described with reference to this figure. First, a cathode electrode layer 4 made of Nb or the like, an insulating layer 3 made of SiO ₂ or the like and a gate electrode layer 2 made of Nb or the like are formed on a substrate 1 made of glass or the like. Stack in order. After that, a circular fine hole penetrating the gate electrode layer 2 and the insulating layer 3 is formed by the reactive ion etching method (FIG. 17A).

After that, the sacrificial layer 7 made of aluminum or the like is used.
Is formed on the gate electrode layer 2 by oblique vapor deposition or the like (see FIG. 1).
7 (b)).

A microchip material 8 such as molybdenum is deposited on the structure thus formed by a vacuum vapor deposition method. Here, the deposit on the sacrificial layer blocks the fine holes as the deposition progresses, and the microchips 5 are formed in a conical shape in the fine holes (FIG. 17C).

Finally, the sacrifice layer 7 is melted to lift off the microchip material 8 to complete the device (FIG. 17D).

However, in such a manufacturing method, it is difficult to control the distance d with good reproducibility, and the amount of emission current varies from device to device. Further, a metal piece or the like generated during lift-off short-circuits the microchip 5 and the gate electrode layer 2, and when a voltage is applied between the microchip 5 and the gate electrode layer 2 during driving, heat is generated at the short-circuited portion, and the short-circuited portion is generated. And destruction of the surrounding area occurs. This reduces the effective emission area. The variation due to each element as described above causes unevenness in brightness when applied as an image forming apparatus, for example, and is very annoying.

Further, in this example, since electrons are emitted from one emission point, if the emission current density is increased in order to cause the phosphor to emit light, thermal destruction of the electron emission portion is induced and the FE element It will limit the lifespan. In addition, the ions existing in a vacuum may sputter the tip of the microchip intensively to shorten the life of the device.

Although the electrons emitted into the vacuum proceed directly to the equipotential surface, the equipotential surface 6 is formed in the hole along the microchip 5 in the structure shown in FIG. become. Therefore, the electrons emitted from the tip of the microchip 5 tend to spread. A part of the emitted electrons is absorbed by the gate electrode layer 2 and the amount of electrons reaching the anode is reduced. The amount of electrons absorbed in the gate electrode layer 2 is the distance d
It tends to increase with decreasing.

In order to overcome such drawbacks of the FE element, various examples have been proposed as individual solutions.

As an example of preventing the spread of the electron beam, there is an example in which the focusing electrode 9 is arranged above the electron emitting portion. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an FE type element with a focusing electrode. In this example, the emitted electron beam is focused by the negative potential of the converging electrode 9, but in this example, a more complicated process than the above-described manufacturing process is required, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost.

As an example of reducing the electron beam diameter without disposing the converging electrode, there is a method of forming no microchip such as the Spindt type. For example, JP-A-8-0
There are those described in JP-A 96703, JP-A-8-096704, and JP-A 8-264109.

This has the advantage that a flat equipotential surface is formed on the electron emission surface and the spread of the electron beam is reduced because electrons are emitted from the thin film arranged in the hole.

Further, by using a constituent material having a low work function as an electron emitting substance, electrons can be emitted without forming a microchip, and a low driving voltage can be achieved. There is also an advantage that the manufacturing method is relatively simple.

Further, since the electron emission is performed on the surface,
The electric field is not concentrated, the chip is not broken, and the life is long. However, in these examples, a potential distribution that is correlated with the hole depth and the distance between the gate electrode layers is formed around the hole. Therefore, although not as in the Spindt type, the emitted electrons also tend to spread and the emitted electrons are emitted. The problem that some of the electrons are absorbed or scattered by the gate electrode layer has not been solved.

An example of improving the electron emission efficiency is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-115654, in which the electron emitting material is formed at a position deeper than the surface of the insulating layer. There are problems that it is difficult to apply and drive voltage rises, and that the manufacturing method is difficult.

Further, in JP-A-2000-156147, the opening is used as an upper electrode gate, an insulating layer, and a lower electrode (electron emission layer), and the area of the opening is continuous or discontinuous toward the bottom surface. Although there is a proposal to reduce the beam to converge the beam, it becomes necessary to converge the beam as the resolution becomes higher.

Further, in US Pat. No. 6,204,597, it is proposed that the number of insulating layers is two and the dielectric constant of the lower insulating layer is made larger than that of the upper insulating layer to perform beam focusing. ing.

FIG. 20 shows an example in which the electron-emitting device is applied as an image forming apparatus. The lines of the gate electrode layer 2 and the lines of the cathode electrode layer 4 are arranged in a matrix, and the electron-emitting devices 14 are arranged at the intersections of both lines, and the electron-emitting devices at the intersections selected according to the information signal. Electrons are emitted from 14, are accelerated by the voltage of the anode 12, and enter the phosphor 13. This is a so-called tripolar device.

When the application to the image forming apparatus such as the display as described above is considered by the field emission type electron emitting device, (1) the electron beam diameter is small, (2) the electron emitting area is large, and (3) ) Efficient electron emission at low voltage is possible,
(4) It is necessary that the manufacturing process be easy,
It is difficult for the conventional electron-emitting device to satisfy these at the same time.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The object of the present invention is to provide a small electron beam diameter, a large electron emission area, and a high efficiency electron emission at a low voltage. An object of the present invention is to provide a field emission type electron-emitting device, an electron source, and an image forming apparatus which are capable of and easy to manufacture.

[0025]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configurations.

A first conductive layer formed on an insulating substrate, an insulating layer laminated on the first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer laminated on the insulating layer. A through hole formed on the first conductive layer from the insulating layer to the second conductive layer, and an electron emitting material, and on the first conductive layer in the through hole. And an electron-emitting layer formed on the second conductive layer, the electron-emitting device emitting electrons from the electron-emitting layer by applying a voltage between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer. The hole area of the through hole, which is opened toward the first conductive layer side in the portion penetrating the insulating layer, is open toward the second conductive layer side. It is formed smaller than the hole area at the open end, and has a part in the middle of both open ends where the hole area changes discontinuously. The opening area of the first toward the conductive layer side with the open area of apertures end in opening the second conductive layer of the insulating layer is equal to or substantially equal.

The through hole has a hole area at the end of the opening that opens toward the first conductive layer in the portion that penetrates through the insulating layer and opens toward the second conductive layer. The opening area of the upper part of the insulating layer is, for example, a structure in which the hole area is formed smaller than the hole area of the open hole end and the hole area changes discontinuously in the middle of both open hole ends. Smaller opening (hole) area than the lower part, and
An approximately flat area may be allowed to exist between them.

By forming the insulating layer discontinuously in this way, a discontinuous dielectric constant can be formed around the electron-emitting device, and the lower first conductive layer and the upper second conductive layer can be formed. During this period, there is little distortion and a concave potential distribution is formed. For this reason, the electrons emitted into the vacuum directly go to the anode, the spread of the electron beam becomes small, and the electron beam diameter inevitably becomes small. Further, by making the hole area of the opening end of the insulating layer that opens toward the first conductive layer side and the opening area of the second conductive layer substantially equal,
A desired potential distribution is formed in the vertical direction, and the driving voltage determined by the first electrode layer and the upper second electrode layer can be easily reduced, and low voltage driving can be performed. Furthermore, since the emitted electrons travel along the concave potential distribution, the spread of the electron beam can be suppressed as designed without being scattered by the surrounding walls.

Further, almost all of the emitted electrons become electron emission currents because there is no obstacle that obstructs the trajectory of electrons toward the anode and no potential that obstructs them.

Therefore, highly efficient electron emission is possible.

Further, the above-described action can be obtained with a simple structure in which the predetermined members are simply laminated as described above, and the manufacturing process can be facilitated and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Therefore, it can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a display having a large electron emission area.

Further, in the through hole, the hole area of the opening end that opens toward the second conductive layer in the portion that penetrates the insulating layer is the hole of the portion that penetrates the second conductive layer. It is preferably formed larger than the area.

The surface of the electron emission layer that faces the inside of the through hole and emits electrons is a portion that penetrates the insulating layer, and a portion where the hole area changes discontinuously (or It is preferably present on the first conductive layer side rather than a flat region).

According to this structure, the effect of converging the S electron beam is further enhanced, and the electron emission area is increased,
It is possible to improve the durability against ion bombardment existing in a vacuum.

The insulating layer is preferably formed by laminating a plurality of insulating materials.

Further, it is preferable that the plurality of insulating materials are formed by different processes.

The insulating material forming the layer closest to the first conductive layer side among the plurality of insulating materials forming the insulating layer preferably contains silicon nitride.

Here, the hole surface of the through hole may be substantially circular or rectangular.

The hole surface of the through hole may have a line shape.

Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that an electron source having a function of emitting electrons is formed by arranging a plurality of electron-emitting devices having the above-mentioned configurations.

Further, it is preferable that the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in matrix.

According to another aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus having a function of forming an image includes an electron source having the above structure, and an image forming member for forming an image by the electrons emitted from the electron source. It is characterized by

Further, it is preferable that the image forming member is a phosphor that emits light by collision of electrons.

With this structure, the electron source and the image forming apparatus to which the field emission type electron-emitting device is applied can be improved in performance.

[0046]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be illustratively described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions of the components described in this embodiment,
Unless otherwise specified, the material, the shape, the relative arrangement, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an electron-emitting device having the most basic structure of the present invention, which is a sectional view taken along the line AA 'in the plan view of FIG. Further, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram including equipotential lines showing a state when this element is driven.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a substrate, 42 is a second electrode layer, 43 is a first insulating layer, 44 is a first electrode layer, and 45 is a second insulating layer. Reference numeral 17 is an electron emission layer. Here, the second electrode layer 42 is a layer from which electrons are not emitted and shows a conductive material different from that of the first electrode layer 44, but the same material does not pose any problem. Although the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer are made of different materials, there is no problem even if they are made of the same material.

W1 is the width of the first electrode layer and W2 is
Is the width of the second electrode layer, and W3 is the diameter of the hole. D1 is the second
Of the electrode layer, D2 is the thickness of the insulating layer 43, D3 is the distance between the anode 12 and the low potential electrode, D4 is the thickness of the first electrode layer, D5 is the thickness of the electron emission material 17, D6 is the thickness of the second insulating layer.

In FIG. 3, Vg is the second electrode layer and the first electrode layer.
Is a voltage applied between the electrode layers (including the electron emission layer 17), Va is a voltage applied between the first electrode layer and the anode 12, and Ie is an electron emission current. Eh is an electric field formed by Vg. 6 is an equipotential surface.

When Vg and Va are applied to drive the element, an electric field Eh is formed and Vg, D2, D5 and D6 are applied.
The shape of the equipotential surface 6 inside the hole is determined by W3, W3, shape, dielectric constant of the insulating layer, and the like. According to the shape of the present invention, which is an equipotential surface substantially parallel to D3 and Va outside the hole,
As shown in FIG. 3, the equipotential surface is formed in a concave shape on the surface of the electron-emitting device. This is mainly due to the discontinuity of the boundary between the second insulating film and the vacuum layer above the second insulating film, and the equipotential surfaces parallel to each other outside the hole have the first and second insulating layers and the electron-emitting device. Depending on the shape, the equipotential surface is lifted and an equipotential surface is formed. Here, since the equipotential surface is pressed downward at the boundary where the second insulating layer (dielectric constant of 1 or more) enters the vacuum (dielectric constant 1), the equipotential surface bends downward at that portion, and as a result, On the surface of the electron-emitting device, the equipotential surface has a concave shape.

FIG. 4 shows the result of simulation of the orbits of electrons emitted from the device of the present invention in the holes. FIG. 4B shows the trajectory in the conventional example of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-96704 for comparison. In (b), the equipotential surface has a convex shape, the electrons emitted into the vacuum take an outer orbit, and the electrons emitted from the periphery of the electron-emitting device are the second electrons.
Collisions and scattering with the insulating film or the second electrode layer of, and the orbit of the electron spreads greatly. In addition, the orbits of the unscattered electrons spread outward, so the beam diameter increases. On the other hand, in (a) of the present embodiment, the concave equipotential surface causes the first and second insulating films and the second electrode layer to collide and scatter even when emitted from around the electron-emitting device. Can go out of the hole without. When coming out of the hole,
After that, the Y direction is accelerated by Va and collides with the fluorescent plate.
The X direction that affects the beam spread can be approximated by a uniform velocity motion of the initial velocity Vx in the X direction when the beam exits the hole. In order to reduce the beam diameter, it is important to eliminate scattered components and to reduce Vx. In the embodiment of the present invention, no scattering occurs.
Low Vx can be realized. The beam size tends to expand as the electric field Eh increases and Va decreases, and these parameters are design items for selecting values suitable for the intended use of the electron-emitting device.

In the device of the present invention, as described above, electrons can be taken out without scattering, so that almost all the emitted electrons are Ie, and the efficiency is very good even at low voltage. Also, here, an example in which the equipotential surface is concave is shown.
Even if it is convex, it is effective if it is small.

Further, the electron emission area on the device of the present invention is the entire surface of the electron emission layer 17, and since the electron emission area is large, the electron emission layer 17 has good durability against ion bombardment existing in a vacuum.

Furthermore, the device of the present invention has a very simple structure in which lamination is repeated, the manufacturing process is easy, and the device can be manufactured with a high yield. (The manufacturing method will be described later). Also, here, an example is shown in which the opening (hole) area of the upper insulating layer is smaller than the opening (hole) area of the second electrode layer, but the same effect is obtained even if both opening areas are the same. Further, the height of the film surface of the emitting material is the height of the first insulating layer, that is,
The example shown is lower than the flat portion of the insulating layer, but the same may be used. These design items are not particularly limited.
However, when the height of the film surface of the emitting material is higher than that of the flat portion of the insulating layer, the effect is reduced.

The electron-emitting device of the present invention described above will be described in more detail.

An example of a method of manufacturing the electron-emitting device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. It goes without saying that the manufacturing method is not limited to this. In particular, the deposition order and etching method due to the difference in structure will be separately described in the embodiments.

First, the surface of which is thoroughly washed in advance, quartz glass, glass in which the content of impurities such as Na is reduced,
Si on blue plate glass, silicon substrate, etc. by sputtering
Any one of a laminated body in which O ₂ is laminated and an insulating substrate made of ceramics such as alumina is used as the substrate 1, and the first electrode layer 44 is laminated on the substrate 1.

The first electrode layer 44 is generally conductive.
Are available for general vacuum film forming techniques such as vapor deposition and sputtering.
Formed by. The material of the first electrode layer 44 is, for example,
Be, Mg, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, M
o, W, Al, Cu, Ni, Cr, Au, Pt, Pd, etc.
Metal or alloy material, TiC, ZrC, HfC, Ta
Carbides such as C, SiC, WC, HfB_Two, ZrB_Two, L
aB₆, CeB₆, YB _Four, GdB_FourBoride, etc., Ti
N, ZrN, HfN and other nitrides, Si, Ge and other semiconductors
Body, organic polymer material, amorphous carbon, grapher
Ito, diamond-like carbon and diamond
It is appropriately selected from dispersed carbon and carbon compounds. First
The thickness of the electrode layer 44 is in the range of several tens nm to several mm.
Is set within the range of, preferably in the range of several hundred nm to several μm.
To be selected. Conductive emitting material as the first electrode layer
You may use the fee.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the electron-emitting device 17 is formed on the first electrode layer 44 and then on the first electrode layer 44.
Deposit. The electron emission layer 17 is formed by vapor deposition, sputtering, C
It is formed by a general vacuum film forming technique such as a VD method or a photolithography technique. The material of the electron emission layer 17 is appropriately selected from, for example, amorphous carbon, graphite, diamond-like carbon, carbon in which diamond is dispersed, and carbon compounds. A diamond thin film having a low work function, diamond-like carbon, etc. are preferable. The thickness of the electron emission layer 17 is set in the range of several nm to several hundred nm, preferably several nm to several tens n.
It is selected in the range of m. After laminating with the first electrode layer, photolithography and etching steps may be collectively performed (FIG. 5B). In some cases, the electron emission layer 17 is not deposited here, and after forming the holes, a diamond thin film, diamond-like carbon, or the like is selectively deposited as the electron emission layer 17 on the first electrode layer. . Then, the second insulating layer 45 and the first insulating layer 43 are deposited. The insulating layers 43 and 45 are formed by a general vacuum film forming method such as a sputtering method, a CVD method, a vacuum vapor deposition method, or the like, and the thickness thereof is set in the range of several nm to several μm, preferably several It is selected from the range of 10 nm to several hundred nm. Preferred materials include SiO ₂ , SiN, Al ₂ O ₃ , Ca
A material having a high breakdown voltage that can withstand a high electric field, such as F or undoped diamond, is desirable.

Further, following the insulating layer 43, the second electrode layer 42
Deposit. The second electrode layer 42 has conductivity like the first electrode layer 44, and is formed by a general vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method. Second electrode layer 2
The material is, for example, Be, Mg, Ti, Zr, Hf,
V, Nb, Ta, Mo, W, Al, Cu, Ni, Cr,
Metal or alloy material such as Au, Pt, Pd, TiC, Z
Carbides such as rC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC, Hf
Borides such as B ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , CeB ₆ , YB ₄ and GdB ₄ , nitrides such as TiN, ZrN and HfN, Si and G
It is appropriately selected from semiconductors such as e and organic polymer materials.
The thickness of the second electrode layer 2 is set in the range of several nm to several μm, and is preferably selected in the range of several nm to several hundred nm.

The electrodes 42 and 44 may be made of the same material or different materials, and may be formed by the same method or different methods.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the hole pattern 16 is formed by the photolithography technique.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5D, the first insulating layer is selectively partially removed by, for example, wet etching to complete the device. In the example in which the first insulating layer is made of SiO ₂ and the second insulating layer is made of SiN, for example, buffered hydrofluoric acid or the like is used. The etching process, which is appropriately selected depending on the combination of materials, is preferably a smooth and vertical etching surface. The etching method may be selected according to the material of each of the layers 43, 44, 45 and 17. As described above, finally, the electron emission layer 17 may be selectively deposited on the first electrode layer 44. It goes without saying that there is no particular limitation.

The width W1 of the first electrode layer (including the electron emission layer 17) is appropriately determined according to the material and resistance of the device, the work function and driving voltage of the electron emission material, and the required shape of the electron emission beam. Is set. Usually, W1 is selected from the range of several hundred nm to several hundred μm. Width W2 of the second electrode layer
Is appropriately set depending on the material forming the device, the resistance value, and the arrangement of the electron-emitting devices. Usually, W2 is selected from the range of several hundred nm to several hundred μm. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of the holes may be arranged to form one pixel. The diameter W3 of the hole is appropriately set according to the material and resistance of the element, the work function and drive voltage of the material of the electron-emitting device, and the required shape of the electron-emitting beam. Usually, W3 is selected from the range of several hundred nm to several tens of μm. The present invention has a great effect in making the beam diameter smaller, and the smaller the value of W1-W3, the greater the effect. D2, D5, and D6 are the first insulating layer 43, the electron-emitting material 17, and the second insulating layer 4, respectively.
The thickness is 5 and has a great influence on the potential distribution. This is also a design matter, and it is preferable that it is optimally designed together with W3 and others. Usually, each is selected from the range of several hundreds nm to several tens of μm, but preferably several μm or less.

An application example of the electron-emitting device to which the present invention is applied will be described below. By arranging a plurality of electron-emitting devices of the present invention on a substrate, for example, an electron source or an image forming apparatus can be constructed.

Various arrangements of electron-emitting devices are adopted. As an example, a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix in the X and Y directions, one of the electrodes of the plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in the same row is commonly connected to a wiring in the X direction, and the same column is used. There is a simple matrix arrangement in which the other of the electrodes of the plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in the above is commonly connected to the wiring in the Y direction. The simple matrix arrangement will be described in detail below.

An electron source obtained by arranging a plurality of electron-emitting devices according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, 91 is an electron source substrate, 92 is an X-direction wiring, and 93 is a Y-direction wiring. Reference numeral 94 is an electron-emitting device of the present invention.

The m X-direction wirings 92 are Dx1 and Dx.
2, ... Dxm, and can be made of a conductive metal or the like formed by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. The wiring material, film thickness, and width are appropriately designed. Y
The directional wiring 93 is composed of n wirings Dy1, Dy2, ... Dyn, and is formed similarly to the X-directional wiring 92. An interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is provided between the m X-direction wirings 92 and the n Y-direction wirings 93 to electrically separate the two (m and n are both Positive integer).

The interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is composed of SiO ₂ or the like formed by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method or the like. For example, it is formed in a desired shape on the entire surface or a part of the base 91 on which the X-direction wiring 92 is formed, and in particular, the film thickness and material are set so as to withstand the potential difference at the intersection of the X-direction wiring 92 and the Y-direction wiring 93. The manufacturing method is set appropriately. The X-direction wiring 92 and the Y-direction wiring 93 are drawn out as external terminals.

A pair of electrodes (not shown) constituting the electron-emitting device 94 are electrically connected to each other by m wires in the X direction 92, n wires in the Y direction 93 and a wire made of a conductive metal or the like. .

The material forming the X-direction wiring 92 and the Y-direction wiring 93, the material forming the wire connection, and the material forming the pair of element electrodes may be the same or may be the same as some or all of the constituent elements. May be different. These materials are appropriately selected, for example, from the materials of the device electrodes (electrodes 42 and 44) described above. When the material forming the element electrode and the wiring material are the same, the wiring connected to the element electrode can also be referred to as an element electrode.

A scanning signal applying means (not shown) for applying a scanning signal for selecting the row of the electron-emitting devices 94 arranged in the X direction is connected to the X-direction wiring 92. On the other hand, Y
The directional wirings 93 include electron-emitting devices 94 arranged in the Y direction.
A modulation signal generating means (not shown) is connected to modulate each column according to the input signal. The driving voltage applied to each electron-emitting device is supplied as a difference voltage between the scanning signal and the modulation signal applied to the device.

In the above structure, individual elements can be selected and driven independently by using simple matrix wiring. An image forming apparatus configured by using an electron source having such a simple matrix arrangement will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display panel of the image forming apparatus.

In FIG. 8, 91 is an electron source substrate on which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged, 101 is a rear plate on which the electron source substrate 91 is fixed, and 106 is a fluorescent substance as a fluorescent material which is an image forming member on the inner surface of the glass substrate 103. The face plate is formed with the film 104, the metal back 105, and the like. 1
Reference numeral 02 denotes a support frame, and the rear plate 101 and the face plate 106 are connected to the support frame 102 by using frit glass or the like. Reference numeral 107 denotes an envelope, which is sealed and formed by baking in an atmosphere or nitrogen in a temperature range of 400 to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more.

Reference numeral 94 corresponds to the electron-emitting device in FIG. 92 and 93 are a pair of device electrodes 4 of the electron-emitting device.
The X-direction wiring and the Y-direction wiring are connected to the wirings 2, 44.

The envelope 107 is composed of the face plate 106, the support frame 102, and the rear plate 101 as described above. Since the rear plate 101 is provided mainly for the purpose of reinforcing the strength of the base body 91, when the base body 91 itself has sufficient strength, the separate rear plate 101 can be omitted. That is, the support frame 102 may be directly sealed to the base 91, and the face plate 106, the support frame 102, and the base 91 may constitute the envelope 107. On the other hand, by installing a support member (not shown) called a spacer between the face plate 106 and the rear plate 101, it is possible to configure the envelope 107 having sufficient strength against atmospheric pressure.

In the image forming apparatus using the electron-emitting device of the present invention, the phosphor (fluorescent film 104) is aligned and arranged above the electron-emitting device 94 in consideration of the emitted electron trajectory. Fig. 9 shows the fluorescent film 1 used in the panel of the present case.
It is a schematic diagram which shows 04. In the case of a color fluorescent film, it is composed of a black conductive material 111 called a black stripe shown in FIG. 9A or a black matrix shown in FIG.

In the case of color display, the purpose of providing the black stripes and the black matrix is to make the color-separated portions between the phosphors 112 of the three primary color phosphors black so as to make the color mixture inconspicuous, and to make the phosphor film It is to suppress the decrease in contrast due to the reflection of external light.
As the material of the black stripe, in addition to a commonly used material containing graphite as a main component, a material having conductivity and having little light transmission and reflection can be used.

As a method for applying the phosphor to the glass substrate 103, a precipitation method, a printing method or the like can be adopted regardless of monochrome or color. A metal back 105 is usually provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 104. The purpose of providing the metal back is to improve the brightness by specularly reflecting the light to the inner surface side of the light emission of the phosphor to the face plate 106 side, and to act as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, This is to protect the phosphor 104 from damage due to collision of negative ions generated in the envelope. The metal back 105 can be manufactured by performing a smoothing process (generally called “filming”) on the inner surface of the fluorescent film after manufacturing the fluorescent film, and then depositing Al using vacuum deposition or the like.

On the face plate 106, a transparent electrode (not shown) may be provided on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 104 in order to further enhance the conductivity of the fluorescent film 104.

In the present invention, since the electron beam reaches right above the electron-emitting device 94, the fluorescent film 104 is positioned and arranged directly above the electron-emitting device 94.

Next, the envelope (panel) which has been subjected to the sealing step.
The vacuum sealing step of sealing the will be described.

In the vacuum sealing process, the envelope (panel) 107 is used.
While heating at 80 to 250 ° C, the gas is exhausted through an exhaust pipe (not shown) by an exhaust device such as an ion pump or a sorption pump to create an atmosphere with a sufficiently small amount of organic substances, and then the exhaust pipe is burned. Heat to melt and seal. A getter process may be performed in order to maintain the pressure after the envelope 107 is sealed. This is done by heating using resistance heating, high frequency heating, or the like immediately before or after sealing the envelope 107, and thus the envelope 10 is sealed.
In this process, a getter placed at a predetermined position (not shown) in 7 is heated to form a vapor deposition film. Getter is usually B
The main component is a, etc., and the atmosphere inside the envelope 107 is maintained by the adsorption action of the vapor deposition film.

In the image forming apparatus constructed by using the electron source of the simple matrix arrangement manufactured by the above steps, the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm, Dy1 to Dy1 to each electron emitting element are formed.
By applying a voltage via Dyn, electron emission occurs. Va is the metal back 1 via the high voltage terminal 113.
05 or a high voltage is applied to a transparent electrode (not shown) to accelerate the electron beam.

The accelerated electrons collide with the fluorescent film 112 and emit light to form an image.

Next, a configuration example of a drive circuit for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal on a display panel constructed by using an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement will be described with reference to FIG. . In FIG.
121 is an image display panel, 122 is a scanning circuit, 12
3 is a control circuit, and 124 is a shift register. 125
Is a line memory, 126 is a synchronizing signal separation circuit, 127 is a modulation signal generator, and Vx and Va are DC voltage sources.

The display panel 121 has terminals Dox1 to Dox1.
oxm, terminals Doy1 to Doyn, and high-voltage terminal Hv
It is connected to an external electric circuit via. Terminal Dox1
To Doxm, a scanning signal for sequentially driving an electron source provided in the display panel, that is, an electron-emitting device group matrix-wired in a matrix of M rows and N columns row by row (N elements) is applied. To be done.

A modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each element of the electron-emitting devices in one row selected by the scanning signal is applied to the terminals Dy1 to Dyn. The high-voltage terminal Hv receives, for example, 10 K [V] from the DC voltage source Va.
Is supplied, which is an accelerating voltage for giving enough energy to excite the phosphor to the electron beam emitted from the electron-emitting device.

The scanning circuit 122 will be described. This circuit is provided with M switching elements inside (schematically shown by S1 to Sm in the figure).
Each switching element selects either the output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0 [V] (ground level) and is electrically connected to the terminals Dx1 to Dxm of the display panel 121. Each of the switching elements S1 to Sm operates based on the control signal Tscan output by the control circuit 123, and can be configured by combining switching elements such as FETs.

In the case of the DC voltage source Vx, the drive voltage applied to the non-scanned elements based on the characteristics (electron emission threshold voltage) of the electron emitting element in this example is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold voltage. It is set to output such a constant voltage.

The control circuit 123 has a function of matching the operation of each part so that an appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. The control circuit 123 generates control signals Tscan, Tsft, and Tmry for each unit based on the synchronization signal Tsync sent from the synchronization signal separation circuit 126.

The synchronizing signal separation circuit 126 is a circuit for separating the synchronizing signal component and the luminance signal component from the NTSC system television signal input from the outside, and uses a general frequency separation (filter) circuit or the like. Can be configured. The sync signal separated by the sync signal separation circuit 126 is composed of a vertical sync signal and a horizontal sync signal, but is shown here as a Tsync signal for convenience of description. The luminance signal component of the image separated from the television signal is represented as a DATA signal for convenience. The DATA signal is input to the shift register 124.

The shift register 124 is for serial / parallel conversion of the DATA signals serially input in time series for each line of the image, and is based on the control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 123. The control signal Tsft can be said to be the shift clock of the shift register 124. The serial / parallel converted image data for one line (corresponding to drive data for N electron emission elements) is output from the shift register 124 as N parallel signals Id1 to Idn.

The line memory 125 is a storage device for storing the data for one line of the image for a required time, and stores the contents of Id1 to Idn as appropriate in accordance with the control signal Tmry sent from the control circuit 123. The stored contents are output as I′d1 to I′dn and input to the modulation signal generator 127.

The modulation signal generator 127 outputs the image data I ′.
The display panel 12 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the electron-emitting devices according to each of d1 to I′dn, and the output signal thereof is supplied through the terminals Doy1 to Doyn.
1 is applied to the electron-emitting device.

As described above, the electron-emitting device according to the present invention has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, the electron emission has a clear threshold voltage Vth, and the electron emission occurs only when a voltage higher than Vth is applied. For a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold value, the emission current also changes according to the change in the voltage applied to the device. From this, when a voltage is applied to this element, for example, electron emission does not occur even if a voltage below the electron emission threshold is applied,
When a voltage higher than the electron emission threshold is applied, an electron beam is output. At that time, the intensity of the output electron beam can be controlled by changing the applied voltage Vf. When a pulse voltage is applied to this element, the electron beam intensity can be controlled by changing the pulse height Ph, and the total amount of electric charge of the electron beam output can be controlled by changing the pulse width Pw. It is possible.

Therefore, as the method of modulating the electron-emitting device according to the input signal, the voltage modulation method, the pulse width modulation method or the like can be adopted. When carrying out the voltage modulation method, as the modulation signal generator 127, a circuit of the voltage modulation method that generates a voltage pulse of a fixed length and appropriately modulates the peak value of the pulse according to the input data is used. be able to.

When implementing the pulse width modulation method,
As the modulation signal generator 127, it is possible to use a circuit of a pulse width modulation system that generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value and appropriately modulates the width of the voltage pulse according to the input data.

The shift register 124 and the line memory 12
The digital signal type 5 and the analog signal type 5 can be adopted. This is because the serial / parallel conversion and storage of the image signal may be performed at a predetermined speed.

When the digital signal type is used, it is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the sync signal separation circuit 126 into a digital signal, which may be provided with an A / D converter at the output portion of 126. In connection with this, the line memory 12
Depending on whether the output signal of 5 is a digital signal or an analog signal,
The circuit used for the modulation signal generator 127 is slightly different. That is, in the case of the voltage modulation method using a digital signal, for example, a D / A conversion circuit is used for the modulation signal generator 127, and an amplification circuit or the like is added if necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 127 includes, for example, a high-speed oscillator, a counter for counting the number of waves output from the oscillator, and a comparator for comparing the output value of the counter with the output value of the memory. A circuit that combines (comparators) is used. If necessary, an amplifier for voltage-amplifying the pulse-width-modulated modulation signal output from the comparator up to the driving voltage of the electron-emitting device can be added.

In the case of the voltage modulation method using an analog signal, the modulation signal generator 127 may be an amplifier circuit using an operational amplifier, for example, and a level shift circuit or the like may be added if necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, for example, a voltage control type oscillation circuit (VCO) can be adopted, and an amplifier for amplifying the voltage up to the driving voltage of the electron-emitting device can be added if necessary.

In the image display device having such a structure, electrons are emitted by applying a voltage to each electron-emitting device through the terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn outside the container. A high voltage is applied to the metal back 215 or a transparent electrode (not shown) via the high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the electron beam. The accelerated electrons collide with the fluorescent film 214 and emit light to form an image.

The configuration of the image forming apparatus described here is an example of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention. As for the input signal, the NTSC system has been mentioned, but the input signal is not limited to this, and the PAL, SECAM system, etc., and a TV signal composed of a larger number of scanning lines (for example, the MUSE system, etc.). High-definition TV) system can also be adopted.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention may be used as a display apparatus for television broadcasting, a display apparatus such as a TV conference system or a computer, and also as an image forming apparatus as an optical printer constituted by using a photosensitive drum or the like. Can be used.

[0106]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of an electron-emitting device manufactured according to this embodiment together with an example of a manufacturing method. The manufacturing process of the electron-emitting device of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

(Step 1) First, as shown in FIG. 11A, after using quartz for the substrate 1 and performing sufficient cleaning, a T electrode having a thickness of 500 nm is formed as a first electrode layer 44 by a sputtering method.
i and the electron emission material 17 were deposited to 100 nm. The electron emitting material was diamond-like carbon containing a low resistance diamond film by the CVD method, and the reaction gas was a mixed gas of CH4 and H2 and oxygen.

(Step 2) Next, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), spin coating of a positive photoresist (AZ1500 / Clariant) and a photomask pattern are exposed by photolithography, developed, and subjected to electron irradiation. The emission material and the Ti electrode layer were dry-etched with CF4 gas.

(Step 3) As shown in FIG. 11C, a SiO 2 layer having a thickness of 1000 nm is deposited as the insulating layer 43, and a Ta layer having a thickness of 100 nm is deposited as the second electrode layer 2 in this order. Patterning was performed as in photolithography, and holes were formed by dry etching. At this time, the insulation separation is performed in the same manner, so that the photolithography and etching process is performed twice.

(Step 4) As shown in FIG. 11D, SiO of 43 was etched by wet etching, and then SiO of 300 nm was further formed by the P-CVD method.

(Step 5) Further, as shown in FIG. 11E, the SiO film formed by the P-CVD method was dry-etched by using the Ti electrode as the second electrode layer as a mask.

The electron-emitting device manufactured as described above was arranged and driven as shown in FIG. Drive voltage is V
g = 20V, Va = 5kV, the second electrode is 0V, and the electron-emitting device is also 0V. Electron emitting device and anode 12
The distance D3 between and is 1 mm. Here, using an electrode coated with a phosphor as the anode 12, the size of the electron beam was observed. The electron beam size referred to here is the size up to a region of 10% of the peak luminance of the phosphor that has emitted light. As a result, the beam diameter was 300 μm. Here, the electron emitting portion is described as a substantially circular hole as shown in FIG. 2, but it is not particularly limited, and may be formed in a line shape as shown in the plan view of FIG. 12, for example. The sectional shape is the same as that of the hole. At this time, the same effect is obtained,
The beam diameter could be reduced. The creation method is exactly the same except that the patterning shape is changed. It is possible to arrange a plurality of line patterns, and a large emission area can be obtained.

[Embodiment 2] As Embodiment 2, the structure and method of forming an insulating layer having a plurality of layers by a different process will be described.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a method of manufacturing the electron-emitting device of the present invention. The manufacturing process of the electron-emitting device of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

(Step 1) First, as shown in FIG. 5A, after using quartz for the substrate 1 and performing sufficient cleaning, a T electrode having a thickness of 500 nm is formed as a first electrode layer 44 by a sputtering method.
i, an electron emission layer 17 of diamond-like carbon containing a low resistance diamond film was deposited on the first electrode layer 44 by about 100 nm by the CVD method. Reaction gas is CH ₄
And a mixed gas of H ₂ was used.

(Step 2) Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the spin coating of a positive photoresist (AZ1500 / Clariant) and the photomask pattern are exposed and developed by photolithography. After the emission layer was dry-etched with O ₂ , the Ti electrode layer was replaced with C
Dry etching was performed using an F4 gas.

(Step 3) The thickness of the second insulating layer 45 is 5
After creating 00 nm SiN by plasma CVD method,
As the first insulating layer 43, SiO with a thickness of 500 nm was formed by a plasma CVD method. Then, Ta having a thickness of 100 nm was deposited as the second electrode layer 2 by a sputtering method. Next, patterning was performed in the same manner as in the photolithography of step 2, and holes were formed by dry etching. FIG. 5 (c) At this time, since the insulation separation is performed in the same manner, the photolithography & etching process is performed twice.

(Step 4) As shown in FIG. 5D, the first insulating layer was side-etched by buffered hydrofluoric acid for about 500 nm.

The electron-emitting device manufactured as described above was driven with Va arranged as shown in FIG. The driving voltage was Vg = 20 V, Va = 5 kV, and the distance D3 between the electron-emitting device and the anode 12 was 1 mm. Here, using an electrode coated with a phosphor as the anode 12, the size of the electron beam was observed. The electron beam size referred to here is the size up to a region of 10% of the peak luminance of the phosphor that has emitted light. As a result, the beam diameter was 200 μm.

Here, the electron emitting portion is described as a substantially circular hole as shown in FIG. 2, but it is not particularly limited, and may be formed in a line shape as shown in the plan view of FIG. 12, for example. Absent. The sectional shape is the same as that of the hole. At this time, the same effect was obtained and the beam diameter could be reduced. The manufacturing method is exactly the same except that the patterning shape is changed.
It is possible to arrange a plurality of line patterns, and a large emission area can be obtained. Further, as described in the embodiment, each material is not limited to various materials.

[Third Embodiment] A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13 as an example in which the insulating layer has a plurality of layers and the electron-emitting material is present in addition to the openings. This is one embodiment, and the combination with the first and second embodiments is not particularly limited, and there is no problem even if the example in which the electron emitting material is present other than the opening and the example in which the plurality of insulating layers are not provided are not provided. Needless to say. In FIG. 16, Si is used as the second insulating layer 45.
N, SiO was used as the first insulating layer 43, and SiN was used as the third insulating layer 50. These materials are not particularly limited as described in Example 1-2. Further, here, an example is shown in which the opening area of the insulating layer 1 is the largest and the opening becomes narrower in the order of the middle insulating layer 3 and the lowermost insulating layer 2, but the opening area of the middle insulating layer 3 is the smallest. It doesn't matter. Even in such a structure, a concave equipotential surface is formed and the electron beam diameter is reduced. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14, even if the opening area of the upper insulating layer is gradually changed on the taper, it suffices that a flat region exists in the middle. Depending on the preparation situation, some inclination or unevenness does not matter. Similar effects as those shown in the above embodiment can be obtained.

Further, when the first conductive layer is dug in as shown in FIG. 15, the same effect is obtained, and the second conductive layer is formed.
Since the electron emission from the above insulating film is suppressed, the electron emitting film can be finally formed, and it can be easily formed in terms of process without any problems such as alignment.

[Example 4] An image forming apparatus was produced using the electron-emitting devices of Examples 1 to 3. As an example, a case where the device of Example 1 is used is shown.

The device of Example 1 was replaced with 320 × 240 MTX.
Arranged in a shape. As for the wiring, as shown in FIG. 8, the X side was connected to the second electrode layer and the Y side was connected to the first electrode layer. Element is horizontal 300
The pitch was 300 μm and the pitch was 300 μm. A phosphor was placed on the top of the device. As a result, it is possible to form a high-definition image forming apparatus that is capable of matrix driving.

[0126]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an electron-emitting device having a small electron beam diameter, a large electron emission area, highly efficient electron emission at a low voltage, and an easy manufacturing process.

By applying such an electron-emitting device to an electron source and an image forming apparatus, it is possible to improve the performance of the electron source and the image forming apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state where an electron-emitting device according to the present invention is driven.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing electron trajectories of an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus using an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a fluorescent film in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus using an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a method for manufacturing the electron-emitting device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a structure of an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view schematically showing an example of a conventional Spindt-type electron-emitting device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a method of manufacturing a conventional Spindt-type electron-emitting device.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view schematically showing an example of a conventional Spindt-type electron-emitting device with a focusing electrode.

FIG. 19 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an image forming apparatus having a three-pole structure using a conventional electron-emitting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 substrate 2 Gate electrode 3 insulating layers 4 cathode electrode 5 microchips 6 equipotential surface 7 Sacrifice layer 8 Microchip material 9 Focusing electrode 14,17 Electron emitting device 12 Anode 13,112 phosphor 42 second electrode layer (second conductive layer) 43 First insulating layer 44 First Electrode Layer (First Conductive Layer) 45 Second insulating layer 91 electron source substrate 92 X-direction wiring 93 Y direction wiring 94 Electron emitting device 101 rear plate 102 support frame 103 glass substrate 104 fluorescent film 105 metal back 106 face plate 107 envelope 111 Black conductive material 113 high voltage terminal 21 Image display panel 22 Scan circuit 23 Control circuit 124 shift register 125 line memory 126 Synchronous signal separation circuit 127 Modulation signal generator

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A first conductive layer formed on the surface of an insulating substrate, an insulating layer laminated on the first conductive layer, and a second laminated layer formed on the insulating layer. A conductive layer, a through hole penetratingly formed on the first conductive layer from the insulating layer to the second conductive layer, and laminated on the first conductive layer in the through hole. An electron-emitting layer, comprising: an electron-emitting layer, wherein a voltage is applied between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer to emit electrons from the electron-emitting layer. The through hole has a hole area of an opening end that is opened toward the first conductive layer side in a portion that penetrates the insulating layer,
The hole area of the hole end formed to be smaller than the hole area of the hole end that opens toward the second conductive layer side and that opens toward the first conductive layer side of the insulating layer. And an opening area of the second conductive layer are substantially equal to each other. 2. The electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating layer has a surface in the through hole that is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. 3. The surface of the electron emission layer disposed in the through hole is located closer to the first conductive layer than the surface of the insulating layer substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. The electron-emitting device according to claim 2. 4. The surface of the first conductive layer disposed in the through hole is the surface of the substrate rather than the interface between the surface of the first conductive layer covered with the insulating layer and the insulating layer. It is arranged close to the vehicle.
An electron-emitting device according to item. 5. The insulating layer is formed by laminating a plurality of insulating materials.
An electron-emitting device according to item. 6. The insulating material forming a layer closest to the first conductive layer side among the plurality of insulating materials forming the insulating layer includes silicon nitride. Electron-emitting device. 7. The electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the through hole has a substantially circular hole surface. 8. The electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a hole surface of the through hole has a line shape. 9. An electron source formed by arranging a plurality of electron-emitting devices according to any one of claims 1-8. 10. The electron source according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in matrix. 11. An image forming apparatus, comprising: the electron source according to claim 9; and an image forming member that forms an image by electrons emitted from the electron source. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the image forming member is a phosphor that emits light by collision of electrons. 13. A first conductive layer arranged on the surface of a substrate, an insulating layer arranged on the first conductive layer and having an opening, and an opening of the insulating layer arranged on the insulating layer. An electron-emitting device having a second insulating layer having an opening communicating therewith and an electron-emitting layer located in the opening of the insulating layer and arranged on the first conductive layer, wherein the insulating layer side The area of the opening of the second conductive layer located at the end of the second conductive layer and the area of the opening of the insulating layer located at the end on the side of the first conductive layer are substantially equal to each other. Emissive element. 14. The electron-emitting device according to claim 13, wherein a part of the surface of the insulating layer located in the opening has a region substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. 15. The surface of the electron emission layer disposed in the opening of the insulating layer is located at the first conductive region more than a region of the insulating layer located in the opening substantially parallel to the substrate surface. 15. The electron-emitting device according to claim 14, which is present on the layer side.